Pitter Patter
by pari106
Summary: Max and Alec are brought together by what brings most breeding partners together...a baby. Or two? Warning: This is yet *another* work in progress. **Chapter 5 is up now!**
1. Default Chapter

Pitter Patter   
by pari106   
  
pari106@hotmail.com   
http://www.geocities.com/pari106/damain.html   
  
Disclaimer: None of DA belongs to me; Rating: PG-13; Code: M/A   
  
Summary: Alec and Max are brought together by the thing that brings most breeding partners together…a   
baby. Or two?   
  
A/N: This may strike you as uncannily similar to a certain M/Z fic of mine...certain elements of it, anyway.   
I promise it's not just a rip off of that one.   
  
A/A/N: Oh…and, yes, this first chapter starts off Alec-free, but don't worry, the M/A aspect of the story is   
coming soon...whenever I write more of this. Who knows when that will be.   
  
  
  
Prologue…   
  
"I can't even look at you right now…"   
  
The words were harsh, but Max didn't take them back. She turned away from Alec, from that look on his   
face…   
  
Max swallowed the lump in her throat.   
  
She *would* not cry. She wouldn't think about how close he'd come to dying just now. Wouldn't let that   
*look* dissuade her from her anger.   
  
"Max…"   
  
"Get away from me," Max told him, forcing a lot more conviction into her words than she actually felt. "I   
don't want to see you again."   
  
She remained standing where she was, back turned, until she heard Alec at the door. Before he left, he   
paused, and Max could feel his eyes on her.   
  
"I really am sorry, Max," he said at last. His voice was softer, more sincere than she'd ever heard it. And   
his words held more emotion than she'd thought he was capable.   
  
Max didn't respond. And then Alec was gone, leaving her alone with Joshua…and the solitary tear   
slipping slowly down her face.   
  
  
  
**** ****   
  
  
Chapter One…   
  
"So when are you gonna tell Normal?"   
  
Max was shoving her pack into her locker as OC said this, and her friend watched as Max's shoulders   
stiffened at the question. But Cindy wasn't going to back off from this one.   
  
Max shrugged, and Cindy sighed.   
  
"Boo, you gotta tell him."   
  
Max turned to her. "Why?"   
  
"Because my boo's gotta watch out for her little boo, that's why!" Cindy told her. Then her tone became   
more sympathetic. "Max, you can't just hide from this forever."   
  
Max frowned. She wasn't hiding…really.   
  
"I've made enough confessions lately, thank you very much," Max said sourly, but not without that same,   
sad little flash of pain that was in her eyes so often. The last person she'd told about her…situation hadn't   
been happy about it. But this was Normal, after all. What did Max care what he thought about it? Cindy   
knew it wasn't so much the thought of telling Normal that had Max clamming up; it was the fact that doing   
so would remind her all too much of the day a week ago when she'd told Logan.   
  
"He'll get over it, Max," Cindy told her now, putting an arm around her boo.   
  
Max didn't respond.   
  
Then, suddenly, something seemed to catch her eye just over Cindy's shoulders. Max looked up.   
  
"What the…" And her eyes widened with recognition.   
  
Cindy turned to see what had got her so interested. "What is it?"   
  
A girl, about sixteen or seventeen years old, was walking their way; pretty, Cindy supposed, except that she   
looked nervous as a mouse. Blonde hair…and blue eyes that seemed to sparkle when they saw Max. The   
girl smiled from across Jam Pony and hurried her step when she saw the two of them standing there.   
  
"You know her?" Cindy asked Max.   
  
"Yeah," Max replied, confused but pleased by this unexpected visit. "Yeah, I do. Her name's Ralph."   
  
Cindy raised an eyebrow. "What kinda mother would name her kid Ralph?" she asked.   
  
Max just rolled her eyes.   
  
**** ****   
  
"So why are you in Seattle?"   
  
Max and Ralph were walking down the street. Ralph had said maybe one whole sentence since she'd   
shown up at Jam Pony. Max had taken her along on her runs, hoping the younger girl would open up a   
little, but so far her strategy wasn't working. What *was* Ralph doing back in Seattle? Where were   
Bullet, Fixit, Zero, and Bugler? Max had told them to stick together, and they'd seemed to want to do just   
that. What had changed? Was Ralph in some kind of trouble? Now Max was about ready to clock out for   
the day and she had no more answers to her questions than she'd started out with.   
  
Then Ralph finally put a hand on Max's arm.   
  
"Max, can we…talk?" She looked so nervous. Max hadn't seen her this stiff since they'd first met, when   
Ralph had still been X6 809. Only now, instead of blind obedience in her eyes, Max saw fright and   
uncertainty. The younger woman was chewing her lip, and wringing her hands in her pockets.   
  
"Yeah, sure," she told her with a comforting smile, but she was beginning to worry. Were things really that   
bad?   
  
The women stopped at a deli Max had learned she liked, but they didn't order any food, they just sat   
outside on a bench.   
  
"So spill," Max told her. Ralph just stared at her.   
  
"What?"   
  
Max smiled. "That means talk."   
  
"Oh!" For a moment, she actually smiled, but then that look was back there again. Max decided to help her   
out. "Where are the others?" she asked. She didn't have to specify what 'others' she meant.   
  
Ralph shook her head and sighed, but if Max had worried that the problem lay with something happening to   
one of Ralph's group, her worries were now laid to rest. At the mention of the kids she'd escaped   
Manticore with, Ralph looked frustrated, but the nervous fear from before seemed to slip into the   
background of her thoughts.   
  
"Here and there," she replied with a frown. "Bullet and Zero got into a fight. I don't know what it is with   
those two. I think sometimes they forget we're not back at Manticore and that they don't have to keep   
trying to 'take command of the unit'." At these last words, Ralph rolled her eyes and Max had to laugh.   
Yeah, she'd had the same problem with Zack. But this thought sobered her. Best not to think about Zack   
now…she had enough problems on her hands without reviving her grief over losing him.   
  
"So you split up?" Max asked. Ralph nodded.   
  
"Zero said he thought he'd be better off on his own. I think he was just angry at Bullet, though, and he…"   
Ralph looked a little uncomfortable with whatever she was going to say next. Was that a blush?   
  
"He what?"   
  
"He was…jealous. Of me and Bullet," Ralph admitted. Max smiled. Oh. She didn't have to ask Ralph to   
clarify on that. She'd seen the way the two X6s had looked at each other, even back when they'd first   
gotten out of Manticore. Apparently those looks hadn't stopped after the kids had left Seattle the last time.   
  
"What about Fixit and Bugler?" Max asked.   
  
"Fixit followed Zero. She's got a crush on him, you know," Ralph told her. Max shook her head. No she   
didn't know. And here she thought her group had had all the drama. Apparently, Ralph's was getting its   
fair share as well. "Bugler stayed with me and Bullet," Ralph continued.   
  
Max had assumed he would. Out of all the X6s, Bullet and Ralph had seemed most protective of their   
youngest companion. Only one thing confused her…   
  
"And where are they?"   
  
Ralph looked down at her tennis shoes and shrugged. "The last time I saw them…Buffalo."   
  
Buffalo? As in *New York*? But before Max could question her yet again, Ralph looked up.   
  
"I ran away, alright?" she suddenly burst out. "I got scared, and I ran away. When I got back to Buffalo   
they were gone. I don't know where to look for them! I don't even know where to start! I wandered   
around for a while, then I came here." Ralph was growing more agitated by the moment. By this time she   
looked ready to cry, and she was on her feet and pacing. Max was shocked by how quickly all her   
emotions were tumbling out.   
  
"Ralph…"   
  
"What do I do?" the girl suddenly asked her. "You've got to help me, Max, I don't know what to do! I   
didn't know who else to go to…"   
  
Max stood up, too. "Hey," she said, trying to calm the girl down. "Hey, you came to the right place. Of   
course, I'll help you. Just calm down, okay?"   
  
Ralph looked at her through eyes bright with tears.   
  
"What are you talking about?" Max asked. "What do you mean, you got scared? Why'd you run away?"   
  
Ralph hesitated a moment….just a moment, before dropping the bomb.   
  
"Max…I'm pregnant."   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Pitter Patter   
by pari106   
  
Disclaimer, etc. found in part I.   
  
  
  
Chapter Two…   
  
  
Max had no idea what to say. For a full moment, she was struck dumb.   
  
"Say something," Ralph pleaded.   
  
Oh boy.   
  
Max just shook her head. What were the odds of this?   
  
"You're pregnant?" she asked, lamely. Ralph just nodded, looking for…what? Acceptance,   
rejection…comfort? Max knew the feeling.   
  
"Oh, Ralph." Max pulled the girl into a hug. Almost automatically, Ralph's resolve crumbled and she   
began to cry as Max just held her, patting her back.   
  
"I didn't think Manticore paired the X6 off into breeding partners," she commented. They were awfully   
young for that…but then, Manticore was sick and twisted, anyhow. At these words, however, Ralph   
stiffened in Max's arms. She pulled back.   
  
"Uh…they didn't," she said softly.   
  
Max opened her mouth to ask…but then she shut it again. Oh. They didn't. So Bullet…   
  
"Bullet didn't want the baby?" she asked gently. Ralph shook her head.   
  
"Oh, Max…I didn't tell him about the baby!" She looked up at last. "I was afraid of what he'd say and I   
left. I don't know what he thinks about why. I've messed up so bad…"   
  
Hadn't they all?   
  
Max sighed and threw an arm around Ralph's shoulders. "So what do you want to do?" Ralph was totally   
at a loss.   
  
"What should I do?" she asked.   
  
That was the million-dollar question.   
  
"You need to see a doctor," Max told her. Not a prospect either of them enjoyed, but a necessity Max had   
learned had better be accepted. "Then we'll see if we can find Bullet," she said.   
  
This would easily be the harder of the two tasks. Ralph could just go see Max's doctor, but Max had no   
idea where to look for the other X6. She'd thought the kids had gone to Canada…now she learned that   
some of them were in New York, some were somewhere else… They could be anywhere. She didn't   
know them well enough to guess where. And the only person she knew with the kind of contacts that could   
make finding Bullet any easier…was Logan. And she was not looking forward to that conversation. She   
dreaded what Logan would say if she told him one of her fellow Manticore escapees had come to her,   
pregnant.   
  
She wondered what Ralph would say when she told her that she was pregnant, too.   
  
  
  
**** ****   
  
  
  
Doctors offices. Ralph didn't like them any better than Max did. But she felt better having come   
here…knowing she had a plan on how to deal with this thing. Knowing *they* had a plan; that she was not   
alone and that Max was there with her.   
  
And what Max had just told her…she was too surprised to think about how much she hated doctors now.   
  
"You're pregnant, too?" This was the strangest situation she'd ever been in. Which was saying a lot,   
because everything was pretty strange to her out here.   
  
Max nodded, hopping up on the examination table beside her. "Fraid so," she said.   
  
Ralph frowned. "You don't want the baby?"   
  
This, Max couldn't respond to right away. Did she want the baby? Yeah, she wanted it. There'd never   
been a question of that. It was unexpected, but she couldn't blame the baby for that. And she couldn't   
blame its father. The single night they'd spent together had been as much a surprise to him as it had been   
to her, despite whatever orders had sent him to her cell back at Manticore. The consequence of that night   
would be just as surprising…if he ever found out about it. Sure, he'd known pregnancy was the intended   
result of their time together as breeding partners…but Max wasn't sure he equated 'pregnancy' with   
'baby'. He'd lived his entire life in Manticore, after all. What did he know about babies?   
  
"The problem isn't about wanting it…" Max started to explain. But then she wondered if she really could   
give an explanation.   
  
"Does the father want the baby?" Ralph asked. Okay, so maybe Max wouldn't have to give one, after all.   
  
She smiled wryly. Seems she and Ralph had a lot in common. Because the father of her baby didn't know   
about his child, either. And if she wanted to blame someone for that…she had no one to point to but   
herself.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
After Ralph's doctor appointment, Max took her back to her place. It had been a tough day…for both of   
them. Make that a tough week. A tough month. Tough life? Max told OC her friend would be shacking   
up at their place for a while and promised to explain more later. Then, after Ralph settled down for a nap,   
Max went out to think.   
  
Alec. That's where her thoughts went immediately. Max wondered what Ralph would think if she told her   
Alec was the father of her baby; X5 494. Hell, Max didn't even know what to think of it. She didn't know   
what to think of *him*. She never had. Maybe that's why she'd never been able to get him off her mind.   
  
What had happened between them had been a mistake. Or so Max had thought. They'd clashed from the   
moment they met, but they'd also sparked…something Max couldn't admit to herself until just recently.   
That spark had turned into a flame when Max had gone into heat, shortly after Alec had introduced himself   
as her breeding partner. It hadn't surprised Max that their encounter had been so passionate – she was in   
heat after all. But the passion had surprised Alec – she'd realized this later on. X5s who grew up at   
Manticore were treated from puberty on for any 'defects' such as the one that caused Max's heat cycles.   
He'd had no idea what was going on when she'd suddenly shown interest in him…though she'd been   
certain at the time that he was just playing with her. The morning after, Max had been furious; she'd been   
certain Alec had taken advantage of her. She'd been so angry, in fact, that she'd used that anger to fuel her   
determination to escape. She'd breached Manticore's perimeter two days afterward.   
  
Then she'd realized she'd made a mistake, though she hadn't figured on ever getting a chance to apologize   
to him. Yet there he was, back at Logan's penthouse, waiting for her by the time she'd gotten to Foggle   
Towers. And since he had been sent to essentially kill Logan and recapture her…apologies had been the   
last thing on Max's mind.   
  
But Alec really hadn't taken advantage of her. He was just as angry at her accusations as she was when she   
made them. He'd come to Foggle Towers to carry out Manticore orders, but he never did. He'd turned his   
back on Ralph and the others, he'd turned his back on her, but he'd returned when she really needed him.   
He'd nearly turned on her and Joshua for his own sake…but he hadn't. He could be a real asshole   
sometimes. He could be dangerous. But he could be good, too. And Max couldn't make herself stay   
angry at him. She couldn't justify in her mind the anger she had directed at him the night she'd had to give   
up her chance at curing the virus keeping her and Logan apart in order to save Alec. She couldn't help but   
be drawn to him, even now after she'd pushed him away. Maybe that was why she'd pushed him away.   
Because her feelings for him, and her uncertainty over his feelings for her, scared and confused her.   
  
Not that there weren't plenty of other, legitimate reasons Max had lashed out at Alec that night. Alec   
hadn't meant to come between her and Logan. He hadn't planned on making her choose between the cure   
that would give her and Logan a chance and the cure that would save his life. And if saving his life had   
really meant so little to her, she wouldn't have done so in the first place. But it had meant something to   
her; he meant something to her. She'd chosen to save him; that was her choice. But that choice cost her   
the closure that a cure could have brung her and Logan. She knew now that she and Logan were over; this   
baby had ensured that. But even then, before she knew about the child, that last time she'd seen Alec, Max   
had realized she and Logan might no longer be able to make a relationship work, if they'd ever had that   
chance in the first place. They'd both just changed too much. Max had still loved him; she always would   
in a way. But she couldn't go on clinging to a relationship that didn't make any sense. And they didn't   
make any sense anymore. Not when she knew Logan wanted something to happen between him and Asha.   
He could deny it all he wanted – Max saw the way he looked at her. But he was being faithful to Max.   
And he always would be if he thought the only thing standing between them was this virus.   
  
At least…he always would *have*…if it hadn't been for the baby.   
  
Max ended up at the place she always went to think – the Space Needle, and she sat down on its edge with   
a sigh.   
  
She'd had plenty of reasons to be angry at Alec…but none that seemed particularly important now that she   
was going to have this baby alone. Granted…she might have ended up having it alone, anyhow. She had   
no idea how Alec felt about her now. But the point was, she should have given them a chance to find out.   
She should have given Alec a chance; gotten to know him better and not condemned him for something   
that wasn't even his fault.   
  
Now she didn't even know where he was. And it was unlikely Logan would be too happy if she were to   
ask for his help on that issue. She just hoped he'd agree to help her find Bullet, for Ralph's sake if nothing   
else.   
  
  
  
**** ****   
  
  
  
The next morning Max took Ralph to Foggle Towers.   
  
She was nervous. Okay, strike that…she was in a fucking panic. But what could she do? On the elevator,   
Max tried to calm herself. She was shaky enough this time of day because of the morning sickness; she   
didn't need to get herself upset. Throwing up in Logan's penthouse would hardly help her case.   
  
"This is the guy who got us our papers?" Ralph asked, remembering the last time she was in Seattle.   
  
"Yep," Max replied. Ralph studied her profile. She wondered why Max was so on edge, but to her credit   
she didn't mention it. She had a pretty good idea anyhow.   
  
Then they reached Logan's floor.


	3. Chapter 3

Pitter Patter  
by pari106  
  
Disclaimer, etc. found in part I.  
  
A/N: I know this is predominantly Max/Alec…but there is Logan/Asha and Ralph/Bullet story lines here,   
as well. So be ware: major L/A coming up. After the part where it says   
"The night before…" you might want to skip to the next section if either sex, or sex between Logan and   
Asha exclusively, offends you) Okay? Don't say I didn't warn you.  
  
Chapter Three…  
  
Later that day…  
  
  
  
No answer.  
  
Logan called the number again and again. After his fourth call went unanswered, he sighed, rubbing at his   
brow with one hand as his eyes closed.  
  
"Come on, Asha, I know you're there," he muttered to himself with a sigh. Jesus, he'd screwed things up.   
Royally.  
  
When it became clear that Asha wasn't going to answer her phone, Logan went back to paging Max. As if   
that endeavor would be any more successful. Both women were ignoring him…albeit for different reasons.   
Well…sort of different.  
  
With another sigh, Logan returned the phone receiver to its base and dropped his head in his hands.   
  
That's how Alec found him.  
  
The X5 stood, uncertainly in the doorway, watching Logan. He was nervous…and that was pissing him   
off. What the fuck was he doing here? He already knew, but he still couldn't quite believe he was actually   
here.   
  
'You should just turn around and get the hell out, 494,' he thought to himself. But when Logan hung up   
the phone, his demeanor caught Alec's attention. He found himself staying put rather than turning to leave.   
  
"Knock, knock," he finally said, rapping on the partition beside him. Logan still hadn't become aware of   
his presence; something curious. For a human, he was usually relatively alert.  
  
Logan stilled in his seat at the sound of another voice in the room. At the sound of Alec's voice. He turned   
slowly to meet the other man's gaze.  
  
Alec. About a month ago, Logan would have gladly killed the man, if he could have, for having ruined his   
chances with Max. He understood that what had happened hadn't really been Alec's fault, but he couldn't   
help his anger at the X5 for interfering. In more ways than one. He'd known…even before he'd known   
about the baby, that there was more between Alec and Max than Max had been willing to let on. He'd   
known there was some sort of chemistry between them, he could see it just by looking at them. The very   
thought had always thinned Logan's mouth into a grim line, just as it did now. He could admit it…the   
sight of them together had made him jealous. Because he knew there was more there between them than   
Max was letting on, and he knew that, if she wanted to, she could act on it. She and Alec weren't divided   
by some damned virus, like she and Logan were. The only thing keeping Max and Alec apart…were   
himself and that damned smart-ass attitude of Alec's. Which didn't seem to bother Max as much as Logan   
thought it should.  
  
But none of that really made a difference any more, did it? It didn't make a difference what Logan thought   
was going on between Alec and Max…he knew. He couldn't be jealous of Alec and Max if Max chose to   
be with the other man…how could he? She was carrying Alec's baby. And he couldn't very well hate   
Alec for coming between him and Max. If Alec had interfered with what was developing between Max and   
Logan, Logan had ended it all together by what he'd done last night. Besides, there was someone else   
besides Max in this equation that Logan had to worry about… Asha. He hadn't meant to hurt Max or   
Asha, and yet he'd ended up hurting both. He could hardly condemn Alec right now. He was feeling   
pretty damned condemnable himself.  
  
He didn't say any of this aloud, of course.  
  
He just sat there staring at Alec as Alec stared at him, coming to terms with all that had happened, and how   
things had changed. Then he turned his back on the other man, pretending to be very involved in the file   
displayed on his computer. He wasn't even sure what it was.  
  
"Max isn't here," he told him.   
  
Alec raised a brow. "Yeah. I noticed," he quipped. But he couldn't hide behind his mouth forever. Alec   
sighed. 'This is ridiculous…just go ahead and do it already.' He'd come here with a purpose; no use   
procrastinating about it.   
  
"Listen, Logan, I know I…"  
  
But Logan interrupted him. He turned back around in his chair. "And I can't help you find her," he added.   
Alec stiffened. He planned to tell the other man to back off, he wasn't here to find Max anyhow. He   
wasn't going to try to stand between her and her beloved Logan; he'd learned his lesson. But then he saw   
the look on Logan's face. It wasn't territorial; it was defeated.  
  
"Max isn't talking to me right now," Logan confessed. "I…made a mistake."  
  
Alec just stood there, too surprised to know what to say.  
  
"She's probably at home," Logan continued, not facing him. "If you see her…just tell her I said…I'm   
sorry." Then he finally met Alec's eyes again. "Okay?"  
  
Alec just stood there. Then, finally, he whistled.  
  
"Man, if she'll listen to anything I have to say…that was one hell of a mistake."  
  
Logan just sighed. "That's an understatement."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
**** ****  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The night before…  
  
Hands were groping…lips were making a sloppy trail from a small mouth, down the smooth skin of a   
neck…  
  
"Logan…"Asha sighed, as she twined her fingers in his air. He was all over her. He couldn't quite   
remember how they'd got this way…when had they moved to the couch? After dinner, certainly. Just a   
friendly, little dinner…a little moaning about Max, a little whining about the fate of the S1W. A little   
sympathy from both sides.  
  
Why had they scooted so close to one another…no, strike that. The question was: when had they ended up   
with him lying on top of her? Logan couldn't focus. His memory had turned to static some time after the   
sixth glass of scotch. He did recall a few heated looks…a few "innocent" brushes of the hand as they each   
reached for a glass or a bowl or something over the dinner table. He did recall that moment…that moment   
when he first lost the ability to recall anything else. The moment he'd first leaned over to kiss her…   
Everything after that was a blur of alcohol and skin and clothing coming off.   
  
"Oh, God, Asha…" he moaned into her mouth as he kissed her roughly, fisting his hand in her hair at the   
back of her head.  
  
He'd forgotten, a long, long time ago, why this all might be bad. All that continued to register on his mind   
was the beauty of her face, the softness of her body…the sweetness in her eyes… All he could remember   
were those few heated looks and stolen caresses over dinner. All he could think was that he'd needed this   
for so long…not just to make love. But to make love with Asha. He'd needed Asha for so long. Had   
needed so much more than the strained friendship they'd endured, both wanting the other but not being able   
to act on it. He'd needed to love her… He needed her; just her.  
  
That was the thought crossing Logan's mind as he looked down into her eyes. Surprising, that thought. Surprising, but true. Surprising that he'd never realized it before.   
Why hadn't he ever realized how much he needed her?  
  
"Logan…" She moaned his name as she kissed his neck.   
  
"Asha…"  
  
He repeated her name again and again. Her name was the only that had been on his mind as they'd loved   
one another. It was the only name on his mind as they drifted off to sleep, still there on the couch, still in   
one another's arms. Luckily there had been a blanket   
lying nearby – the one Asha had used when she'd stayed over the night before. She'd slept on the   
couch because she'd gotten home late and hadn't wanted to disturb Logan by rummaging around in the   
guestroom. As if she would have…Logan always stayed up late, then woke early.   
  
If he'd only done so that night, the next morning might not have happened. But it did. And no one was the   
same because of that.  
  
  
  
**** ****  
  
  
  
They were talking about her, Max knew it. She lay in her bed, and with her Manticore hearing she could   
make out each of their words just perfectly if she wanted to. But Ralph was speaking quietly…and Max   
didn't particularly want to hear what she was telling Cindy. She'd been there that morning; she'd seen all   
she'd needed to see. She didn't need the whole account verbalized for her now.   
  
Cindy, however, was less easy to ignore. She had no idea what was going on…why blondie there was   
suddenly shackin' up with them, why her boo had come home crying… And she was getting just a little   
tired of being kept in the dark. She didn't know what Max and Ralph had seen at Logan's, and so she   
didn't realize it might hurt Max to hear her talking about it.  
  
Lying in her room, Max listened and a tear slipped down her cheek.  
  
"…the hell you're talking about!" Cindy continued to rant.  
  
"Shh!" Ralph threw a nervous glance at Max's door, and back at the formidably vocal black woman in   
front of her. Her eyes were wide and sad. Poor Max…  
  
Ralph had already taken her own conclusions from the situation. From the way Max talked about this   
Logan…the way they always seemed to be together…Ralph figured this was the one. The father of Max's   
baby. She'd never told Ralph why the baby was "complicated", as she'd put it…but now Ralph knew. It   
was because Max and the baby's father were having problems. It was obvious that they were…Max had   
looked sad when she'd mentioned him. Scared, even. And now they'd shown up at his place, only to find   
him wrapped up on the couch (literally) with another woman…  
  
"…and stop shushing Original Cindy, or you'll be shushin' while I put the sma…"  
  
Now, Ralph was not the aggressive kind. Not in the least. In battle, maybe…or when she was really, really   
hungry… But usually, she was as passive as they came. But Max was hurting, and she didn't want to hurt   
her further…or to see Cindy unintentionally do the same. With a speed impossible of a human being, she   
reached out and grabbed the hand Cindy had raised, for effect more than anything else, and shoved it back   
down to the woman's side. Cindy's mouth hung open for a full moment before she recovered herself   
enough to snap it shut.  
  
Ralph shifted from foot to foot in embarrassment. "Uh…I really don't think that's necessary."  
  
Original just raised an eyebrow, and Ralph sighed.  
  
"Listen…Max … she's…had a hard morning." Duh, Ralph. Trying again, Ralph cast a wary eye in Max's   
direction, and lowered her voice yet again. "She caught the father of her baby…well, you know." She   
didn't want to say it.   
  
Cindy just waited. "No. I don't…" Then realization hit. Something about the blush on the younger girl's   
face gave her an idea. "Oh. You don't mean he…"  
  
Ralph nodded. "We found them together at his place."  
  
Cindy cursed under her breath. "That son of a… He's got a place here in town?"  
  
Ralph nodded again, with a slightly puzzled frown. But Cindy had known that, hadn't she? "Yeah, Max   
says she goes to see him all the time."  
  
Cindy stiffened. So Max had been seeing Alec…that Manticore smart-ass that had knocked her up. She   
hadn't told Cindy he was back in town…but then she hadn't told her much today. Maybe it was a new   
trend. OC pushed these thoughts aside, however. It wasn't time to get all uppity about Max and her   
business. If she had a reason for keeping these things to herself, then she had a good reason. Right now,   
Cindy just wanted to concentrate on cussing that miserable little prick who'd gotten Max pregnant till he   
was red in his genetically engineered ears. Max had talked about him a lot…like every five minutes.   
Cindy had never met him, so she couldn't say either way what she thought about him. Max had talked like   
he was a good guy. But now Cindy knew otherwise. He'd been seeing Max all this time, and he had some   
bimbo at his place last night? Forget red. She was gonna cuss that bastard till his ears fell off. Then she   
was gonna figure out how to kill an X5 in the most gruesome way possible…without getting killed first.  
  
But before that could happen…  
  
"Hey, go easy on the guy. Not his fault." That was Max, walking back into the room with dry eyes that   
weren't fooling anybody.  
  
Cindy and Ralph turned.  
  
"Not his fault?" Cindy asked. Then whose was it? The tramp he had over? Feminine wiles and all that   
bullshit…the eternal excuse of the three-legged gender. Max knew better than to fall for that crap.  
  
"Max…" Ralph began, but Max didn't want to talk about it. There wasn't anything to talk about. She   
really didn't know why Cindy was getting so mad. Yeah, it sucked to catch Logan that way. It hurt…   
But they weren't together. They had called it off, officially, a month ago. It had been off for long before   
that. It wasn't his fault she'd decided to pop in, unannounced, at the wrong time. Wasn't like she had a   
claim on him anymore. The virus, and her relationship with Alec, had ended that. She didn't want to be   
with Logan anymore; it was just tough seeing him with someone else. Seeing him *naked* with someone   
else… But that was entirely on her. Why get mad?  
  
"I'm going out," Max announced. Both women began to protest, but Max cut them off, as she began   
wheeling her Ninja out the door. "Later."  
  
She got out of there before she could cry again. 


	4. Chapter 4

Pitter Patter  
by pari106  
  
Disclaimer, etc. found in part I.  
  
  
Chapter Four…  
  
  
Five  
  
Alec counted the times he'd walked up to the stoop of Max's building and had turned around. Five.  
  
"You're a fucking idiot," he muttered to himself with a shake of the head. He was an idiot. A fucking   
*sentimental* idiot. But, damned, if he didn't give it a sixth try.  
  
This time he actually went in. Then he shook his head and cursed again.  
  
452 had turned him into an idiot. A basketcase. She'd messed with his mind since the day they'd met,   
screwing around with everything he ever thought was true. Screwing around with all his principles. His   
mission and himself had been the only two things that he'd cared about since the time he was about ten   
years old, and he liked it that way. Max had screwed around with that, too. She'd given Alec a…dare he   
even say it? A *conscience. Just couldn't get more screwed up than that.  
  
She'd haunted him. At first, he'd told himself that little spark of morality she'd made him feel, that little   
nudge of guilt the day he'd left Seattle…he'd told himself all of that was just a fluke. He was shook up   
from almost dying, there was a fucking bomb in his brain, after all… That's all that had been. But still   
she'd haunted him…  
  
He'd tried losing himself in the eyes of other women since he'd left. Blue eyes, green eyes…they all   
turned dark brown when he looked at them. He couldn't look at anyone, anything, anymore without seeing   
Max. Seeing those big, almond-shaped eyes… Even if he could, Max would still be there on his mind.   
She had been ever since that wild night at Manticore. The first night he'd ever felt passion, real passion for   
someone he'd thought had felt it back for him. The *real* him…even if he didn't yet know who that was.   
All his previous experiences with women had been under false pretenses. He'd slept with them using the   
name and motive Manticore had given him…or he'd picked them up with some arbitrary designation he'd   
pulled out of the air, just to give them something to call him, something normal. Something he wouldn't   
even remember the next morning…he hardly remembered the women much longer than that, anyhow.  
  
But Max… Max had used the name *she'd* given him. That seemed different, somehow. To Alec, the   
fact that it did was just another sign of how screwed up she'd made him. She made a lot of things seem   
different. Not just the name she'd given him, or that night they'd spent together… She made him feel   
different.  
  
He wasn't the same person anymore. He didn't even know who he was. He wasn't the type to risk his   
neck for a bunch of green X6s too stupid to keep their heads down… But he'd done just that… for Max.   
He wasn't the type to wear out his welcome in any one place. The last time he'd been to Seattle, White had   
nearly had him. Yet here he was…for Max.   
  
He wasn't the type to work his ass off…trying to find some doctor…just so that the woman he had a thing   
for could kick it with somebody else…  
  
And, yet again… here he was.  
  
An idiot. Billions of dollars worth of R&D laid to waste by a pair of big, brown eyes and a bad attitude.  
  
Alec started looking for Max's apartment…  
  
So intent on his purpose, and lost in thought, that he didn't even see the woman walking towards him,   
down the stairwell, with her bike. And the woman…Max…was so blinded by tears she didn't see him   
either. Until they crashed into one another. And then Max began to tumble down the stairs… 


	5. Chapter 5

Pitter Patter  
by pari106  
  
Disclaimer, etc., found in Chapter 1.  
  
  
  
Chapter Five…  
  
  
  
"Max!"  
  
It all happened so fast… one moment Alec was oblivious, clearing the stairwell and   
turning a corner. The next moment his body was crashing into one that was smaller, and   
female…and Max. One moment he was on his way to find her, and the next she was   
right there. And when they collided, he reached out, instinctively, to catch   
her…recognition catching him first. He didn't even have to see her face…her nearness,   
and her scent, were familiar enough to his senses after all the time he'd spent longing for   
her.   
  
But he looked at her face anyhow…and saw shock there. He felt it, too.   
  
That was why, when he went to catch her, he didn't. He wasn't fast enough.  
  
His fingers grazed the leather of Max's jacket, but he couldn't get a hold on her.  
  
"Max!" Alec had time for just that exclamation…and then he watched as Max lost her   
footing, pulled down the stairs by the weight of her motorcycle, which, in her surprise,   
she hadn't thought to let go of when she began to lose her balance.  
  
The motorcycle fell, and Max fell over it with a scream, rolling down a few stairs, before   
she managed to reach out and grab a banister, keeping herself from falling further. Max   
cried out as her arm twisted in an odd angle, her shoulder slipping free of its socket. But   
it wasn't her shoulder she clutched when it was over. It was her stomach.  
  
Alec was at her side immediately.  
  
"Max!"  
  
Wide-eyed he knelt beside her, as Max moaned. "Max, are you okay?"  
  
Max was vaguely aware of Alec's voice as he called her name. She looked up and saw   
his face…  
  
"Alec?"  
  
And then she passed out.  
  
  
  
**** ****  
  
  
"We have one patient; female; unconscious. Injured from a fall. Possible head   
trauma…"  
  
Alec only half-listened as the paramedic radioed dispatch, impatiently waiting for the rest   
of his crew to get their gear together and get them the hell out of there.  
  
The paramedic had gotten Max loaded up on a stretcher, and they were waiting in the   
back of the ambulance, Alec holding her limp hand in his own sweaty one. The medic's   
buddy had been busy ever since they'd arrived trying to calm Max's friends down and   
keep them out of the way. Alec had heard them come running down the stairs when he'd   
started shouting for help, cradling Max's head in his lap as she lay there and he cursed his   
own, damned existence. He didn't know how he had anything to do with Max's fall, but   
he knew the blame must lay entirely on him. The blame was always his since he'd met   
Max. Somehow he just seemed destined to hurt her. He should have listened when she   
told him to stay away… Damn it, he should have known! He'd only wanted to help her,   
and now she was lying there next to him, so pale it scared him.   
  
He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt fear for another person's life. But Alec felt   
it now. He felt it in every deep breath Max took that didn't shallow with her gaining   
consciousness. She was X5, for fuck's sake. She was strong. And all she'd done was   
fallen down a fucking flight of stairs, and she looked like death. Something was terribly,   
terribly wrong.  
  
'Come on…come on…'  
  
Alec was close to a panic when, finally, that other paramedic climbed into the back with   
them, and slammed shut the doors. They were on their way. And Alec saw OC and her   
friends' faces through the back gla… 'Is that Ralph?' But he couldn't concentrate on   
those thoughts. OC had been screaming at him ever since she'd seen him, but he hadn't   
heard her. His concentration was fixed totally on Max.  
  
The paramedic rapped on the back of the driver's seat.  
  
"Okay, we're good to go. And hurry!" The ambulance pulled out into the street. And   
Alec hadn't paid its crew any attention since they'd arrived, but he suddenly noticed the   
man across from him when he muttered under his breath: "Come on, Max. You're   
gonna be okay."  
  
Surprise lit Alec's eyes, as he looked at the man sharply. "You know her?"  
  
The guy looked up from Max's limp hand – the one Alec wasn't holding – which he'd   
taken in his own. Alec swallowed and blinked, hating himself for the tiny spark of   
jealousy that went through him at the intimate gesture.  
  
'Fuck man, now's not the time. And you aren't the person who has any right to be   
jealous of anyone.'  
  
"Oh, hey, sorry, man. Yeah. I'm a friend of Max's." The paramedic offered Alec a   
hand, and he shook it. The man was young, very tall and slim. Tanned skin, with dark   
hair and eyes. "Rafer," he said, introducing himself.  
  
"Alec," the transgenic replied.  
  
"You a friend of Max's, too?" he was asked.  
  
The slightest pang assaulted him at that. But Alec ignored it. He didn't even blink.  
  
"Yeah. A friend."  
  
"Well, don't worry," Rafer looked down at the mysterious young woman with whom he   
shared such a peculiar relationship. There was a time when he'd hoped for quite a bit   
more than 'friends' out of that relationship. A time when they had had more. Though   
what they'd had wasn't like anything he was used to or had ever imagined for himself – a   
one-night stand more passionate than any encounter he'd ever experienced. When Max   
had walked, nearly crashed, back into life months after that, they'd hung out for a while   
and Rafer had entertained the idea of reigniting that passion. But Max's heart had   
obviously not been in it. And when she'd explained that she was pregnant, he'd   
understood why. He'd wished the best for her, as he did now, and he hated to think that   
either she or her unborn child might have been hurt today. "We'll take good care of   
them," he told the blonde man who'd been at Max's side when he'd arrived.   
  
The man, Alec, he'd said, blinked. "Them?"  
  
"Max and her baby." He saw surprise in the blue eyes suddenly widening before him.   
"You did know she was pregnant… Right?" 


	6. A Note

A Note:  
  
I know, I know…I hate it, too, when an author includes a note as a chapter :P But I   
forgot to say this at the beginning of the chapter I just uploaded. When I have chapter 6   
written I will replace this note with it. Anyhow…  
  
I have to ask that you please not fill any more reviews with "Write more!" (or something   
to that effect) :P I appreciate the encouragement, believe me. But simply having   
someone say "write more", unfortunately, doesn't magically make my Muse work any   
faster :P I wish it did. But it doesn't. I appreciate everyone's patience, and apologize for   
the way that I work…but what can I say? That's just how I work. I hope you   
understand.   
  
And please understand that, as an author, reviews are what I live for. I check in after   
each update to see if I have any new reviews. Not just to see if anyone is out there   
reading, but also to collect constructive criticism. Constructive criticism, unlike the oft-  
used "write more", does in fact help the creative process. So if you like what you're   
reading, and what more fast, then please find something constructive to say about the   
story.   
  
Okay… That's pretty much it :P Sorry. But that just had to be said. Hope I didn't anger   
anyone with this. Believe me, I feel your pain. 


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